After the Legends
by Michael Winges
Summary: Follow the Next Generation as they find true love, struggle their way through school, and discover a new evil lurking behind every corner as they live in a world after the legends.
1. Dearest Reader

_Dearest Reader,_

_My friend and I came up with this idea after watching Deathly Hallows Part One and I learned which House I was Sorted into on Pottermore. I am a Slytherin; my best friend, Stork, is a Gryffindor; J-ren, who is in this story, is a Ravenclaw; and Sean, another character, is a Hufflepuff. Stork and I decided to write a story about four friends in different houses, and this is what it morphed into._

_This is a story about what happened after the legends of the Second Wizarding War. The following events may seem trivial, but they are vital. My co-author, Stork, and I are still writing down these events, so we shall only have a couple of chapters up at a time. Please bear with us as we finish writing down what we know._

_ We only own the characters that you do not know and the plot. We do not own any of the other Harry Potter characters, and we certainly do not claim to be J.K. Rowling, our beloved queen. We also do not own any of the songs (except one – you will be able to tell the difference). This is the only disclaimer we will give, as this story is going to be too important to include one in every chapter. This will also be the only author's note until the end._

_ Stork and I both hope that you enjoy this story. Please leave a comment or a like if you wish to give us feedback. We would certainly love to hear from you._

_Sincerely,_

_Michael Winges and Stork_


	2. John

**John**

The first memory I have of Hogwarts was before I even walked beneath those massive outer doors. It could be considered the highlight of my first year, which was simply finding a seat on the train. My parents had just finished saying goodbye, hugging and kissing me like I was taking this train to the ends of the earth. Which for all I knew at the time, it was! But I held my head up high and kept my smile on my face as I boarded the train with my new pet toad, Webster. Not the most imaginative name but hey, I was eleven.

So I stumbled down the train cars looking for an empty seat when I noticed a group of students cluttering the hallway. Elbowing my way through, I noticed that the compartment only had one kid in it that was waving out the window. Wondering what everyone was gawking at, I asked the closest person, who happened to be a girl pressing her face against the glass of the door.

"What's going on? Did he get in trouble or something?" I had to stand on my toes to see over the mob. Though at this point my arms were getting tired from holding up my luggage and the cage Webster squatted in.

The girl peeled her face away from the glass with an audible sound and looked at me like I had grown a third eye. Glancing back at her spot, probably to make sure someone else hadn't stolen her lookout spot, she glared back at me.

"I don't know what rock you have been living under, but that in there is the son of the Boy Who Lived!" Turning back around she looked back inside the small room where the boy seemed to refuse to acknowledge the small worship group he had summoned. The girl continued with an almost dream like manner. "He is the most handsome first year I have ever seen too."

Rolling my eyes at the back of the clearly older student, I finally give in to my aching shoulders request to give them a break. Pushing past the fan girl, I grab the handle and half throw myself into the room. James jumped back as I collapse into one of the chairs with my scaly friend in my lap.

Glancing at the door with a sigh he looked to the new addition into his space. "Please tell me you're not going to ask if I have a matching scare. That's why I told half of them that I was saving this seat for someone." Motioning to the crowd of people outside, where the girl had resumed her spot against the glass.

I had to hold back laughter at the looks some of the fans were giving me, glad that there was glass between me and their wands. Smiling over at James, I stuck out my hand with my usual smile on my face.

"John Brehm, first year at Hogwarts and already learned that James Potter does not have a matching scar! I just knew I would learn a lot this year!" We both laughed and he takes my hand in his and gave it a good shake.

Retaking his seat, he leaned back with a sigh as we both catch our breaths. Glancing at the hallway, he visibly winced at the amount of people who were now gawking at this display. Resettling he watched as I moved to lift my case into the rafters.

"Well John, I'm glad to find someone who doesn't believe my father is a demigod and that I just happen to be able to breathe fire." James dropped his head into his hands at this point, though I could hear a muffled chuckle rising out of him.

I force a frown and say, "Aww, and I was just about to get the marshmallows out too. Well, there goes my master plan to sell famous Potter Smores."

James snorts and looks up at me with a smile. "Do you actually have any? I skipped breakfast and I'm starving!"

Sitting across from him, I shake my head, "Unfortunately no, I wish I did have that idea before I left though. I ran by my breakfast before I jumped into the car."

James looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "You drove here? You must be muggle born!"

I laugh at that, since everyone would probably figure I was due to how my parents decided to raise me and my brother. "No, both my parents are magic. They just choose to live more like muggles than most. We drive everywhere, the wands only come out in extreme cases or if my dad wanted to show us a spell he thought we would enjoy. It's not a bad way to live actually." I shrugged.

I didn't really miss out on too much that more regular magical families had. I still had a practice broom and a few other little toys that other kids had. But I also grew up with television, muggle fictional books and other things that I bet magical families would find different. Like the internet.

I smiled at my new friend, who was leaning forward with interest. "I got to play video games growing up, read books that were magical in their own right, and I was able to watch movies that blew my mind." I was close to laughing at the look James had now, one of amazement and wonder at the things I did.

Giving his head a shake, James leaned back once again and laughed. "And here I thought I wouldn't find anyone who could beat my weird life. So what do your parents do for a living?"

Opening his cage, I pulled out Webster and stroked his scaly back as I continued. "Well, my dad works in the Office of Magical Law Enforcement. My mom actually works as a nurse at a muggle hospital." This definitely caught my audience's attention. "She's kind of a liaison between the magical and muggle medical fields. She reports any kind of magical influence she finds but usually she works simply as a regular nurse."

I chuckled as I said, "You wouldn't believe some of the rants she goes on about how she could be out hours early if she could just take out her wand for five seconds each day!"

We both laughed at this until the door opened again. The older girl from before, who had a slightly red mark on one side of her face, was standing in the doorway. Gracefully pushing back a strand of hair behind her ear she cleared her throat.

"Ahem. James, you can come and sit with some of the third years if you want. I'm sure we could provide much more…umm…interesting conversation for someone of your status…" she finished lamely, though she gave me a glare that I'm not sure I deserved.

James however, was a little quicker on his feet. "I would love too, but I just noticed that the last of my friends are finally here!"

Jumping up, he ran into the crowded walkway and pulled out two new students. They both looked to be first years, both of them carrying animals and their trunks. They also looked really confused. Pulling them inside, James looked to the girl and simply said, "Sorry, all full" before closing the door on her.

Closing the window blinds, which I'm surprised stayed open this long, we heard the disappointed sounds of the gawkers on the other side. That and the frustrated screech that probably originated from the window girl before she too moved on.

James collapsed on his side of the benches, heaving a sigh but added a chuckle after hearing the frustration he had caused. I laugh at the looks the two new additions were giving us, like we were the insane ones in the room.

Collecting myself, I stand and shake their hands with my usual goofy smile on. "Welcome to the compartment of misfits. We have in our midst at the moment one famously born boy, and a pure blood muggle! Welcome to the collection!"

James was clutching his stomach, laughing at the weird looks I was receiving from the two new additions. Though they both cracked a smile finally as they relaxed. Grabbing the longer haired guy's trunk, I threw it into the racks above my seat. His friend took the hint and stored his next to James'.

As we all resumed our seats, I turn to the one on my left. "I'm John, this is James." I motion to the still chuckling boy across from me. Both of them were finally smiling now and were relaxing into their seats a bit more. If I was good at anything in the old days, it was throwing the tension out of any situation.

The shorter haired one across from me is the first to speak. "My name is Sean." Glancing at his longer haired friend he shrugged. "We didn't really get a chance to introduce each other before being tugged in here."

My seat buddy introduced himself. "A be Jonathan Renfro. It be great to meet ye" His scottish accent was thick and had everyone in the small room lean forward and say "What?"

Showing a smile, he said again. "I'm Jonathan." His accent was non-existent this time. He let out a light chuckle at our faces. "I was born in Scotland, but people have trouble understanding me. So I usually push it back when my family comes to England."

I slapped him on the back with a smile. "As long as it's not important, you go right ahead and speak however you want! That was awesome!"

Jonathan shrugged and replied in his normal tone, "All richt, but it be yer funeral."

And that was the beginning of our group of four. We talked the whole way to the castle, trading stories of our different childhoods and what we were looking forward to at our new school. Sean was set on being a top athlete in the quidditch games while James laughed and challenged him to do better than him. The rest of the ride was filled with good natured boasting from the two of them and Jonathan and I talking about what it was like in Scotland.

Unfortunately there was a little hitch in our plans. During sorting we were placed into separate houses, Sean to Hufflepuff, Jonathan to Ravenclaw, and James and I to Gryffindor. The strangest thing though was the fact that we were the only boys put into Gryffindor that year! Luckily, sharing a bedroom with someone you consider a friend wouldn't turn out to be that bad. And you wouldn't imagine the room we had all to ourselves! Though we were all in separate houses, we tried to meet up as much as we could during free time and meals.

So first year came and went without a hitch. Nothing like the spectacle James' dad had to go through. James put on a great show for the Quidditch captain, who said that James would make an excellent Chaser next year. Sean apparently also showed off his brawn and was promised a position as a Beater. Sean then boasted about all the Bludgers James was going to take next year. As for me and Renfro (a game involving last names just kept going) we focused more on our studies but still found time to get out to walk the grounds. I always found time to visit my favorite Professor, Hagrid. Sean would join us most days, while James usually tagged along only to dodge his many fans.

The school year sped by in a blur with all of us passing our classes with varying levels of success. I had high grades in Charms and Transfiguration while struggling in Defence against the Dark Arts. Summer came and went, and second year jumped in front of us. Once again, we had a typical year though Albus (James' younger brother) and Scorpius started. Not one to disappoint, Scorpius had the hat on for three seconds before it yelled out "Slytherin!". Our surprise came when Albus sat on the stool for a while, seeming to talk with the sorting hat. I remember nudging James and whispering, "Remember I talked with it for half an hour before the headmaster finally flipped?". While we laughed at the memory, we both jumped in surprise when the hat called our Slytherin.

James stared slack jawed as his younger brother, who had apparently been terrified of this possibility, was laughing and high fiving our rivals in green. Shaking his head sadly, he looked at me and smiled, "My dad gave him the speech before he got on the train."

The year was eventful, especially on the Quidditch field. Another surprise came when Scorpius made Chaser as a first year, and gave both the James and Sean a run for their money. The games went all day, and it usually took a rookie mistake or a caught snitch to finish. I was even getting into the game, going to almost every single one in order to cheer my friends on. I dragged Renfro to as many as I could without getting a hex to the back of the head. Scorpius seemed to simply appear in our group before long, much to James' annoyance. I laughed when I figured out that the family feud seemed to be carrying on through the generations. Scorpius was good for Albus though, bringing the younger brother out into the spotlight and really helping him feel welcome. Though he hated to admit it, James was thankful that Albus made such a good friend his first year. On more than one occasion however I heard James mutter, "Did it really have to be a Malfoy?"

The year passed like the last, with almost mirror images in my classes. I found my calling in Care of Magical Creatures, where I found any reason to research animals we studied and those we didn't. Hagrid, who became a major influence on my future career, was never without company between me, Albus and James. He always joked that he wished the old crew had someone so interested in his class. As for everyone else we all passed once again, with Renfro the star in both Potions and D.A.D.A. Things got interesting the next year.

As summer drew to a close, I couldn't help but be excited. Maggie, my cousin whom I had practically grown up with, was finally starting her first year! We were practically screaming (I admit not a very manly thing) while talking about her first train ride there. When we arrived in our compartment on the train, James immediately jumped up the greet the "new girl". You see, James has started to become a bit of a ladies man over the summer. But this was a girl I had a bit of an issue with him making his usual "moves".

Maggie and I sat together, still talking with great animation about what her next school year would be about. James sat on the other side, a smile on his face even though half of it was turning a dark red due to my knuckles disagreeing with his cheek. I had warned him time and again that he wasn't allowed to practice on my cousin, and I simply gave him a colorful reminder. Beside him was Rose, who had decided to join us in our usual room. Lucky for her, James treated her like a sister. The actual trouble started when Scorpius stepped into the room.

Glancing at James' unique coloring, he couldn't help but smirk. "Whose bruised hand do I need to shake for this wonderful display?"

Flashing him the finger, James simply shrugged and chucked when I raised my slightly damaged hand.

Laughing, Scorpius walked the rest of the way into the room before noticing our new addition. "Umm, why is there another girl in our room? I thought Rose was enough!"

Rose leaned forward and glared at him from beside James with a shout of "Hey!".

Maggie leaned over and waved at him with a smile. "Hi, I'm Maggie!"

I looked over my shoulder with a smile of my own. "This is Maggie, she is my long lost cousin." I received a punch to the shoulder before I continue, "It's her first train ride so I figured the more the merrier."

Scorpius looked around the room. "But we barely have enough room for our group as it is! Why are you adding to it again? Didn't we have enough with your muggle born friend in here?"

James stood at this point and faced the Slytherin. "Watch your mouth! I happen to remember a Bludger you took to the head from that "muggle born" last year!"

Grinding his teeth, Scorpius looked around before turning on his heels and yelling back, "Fine, I'll find more welcoming company elsewhere! Good luck with, what did you call it? Oh yeah, the compartment of misfits. I'm sure she will fit right in!"

Glaring at his back, both the boys in the room let out a sigh before slumping back into our seats. Looking to Maggie, who looked a tad worried, I smiled and said, "Don't worry, he tends to grow on you. I just takes a long, long time for the roots to take."

James snorted at this but nodded his head in agreement. "A loooong time."

The trouble with Scorpius didn't stop there. For some reason, he refused to simply be in the same room as my cousin. He would either refuse to show up or demand that Maggie find somewhere else to go. While James usually gave him a hard time, I never really knew the reason for the sudden hostility towards our new addition. The rest of the group were astonished to see the two of them come down the hall one day laughing about something or other. While I was slightly suspicious in the change, nothing bad ever came of it and the school year continued on without a hitch.

We rediscovered the Room of Requirement, and it was actually Scorpius and Maggie who had the idea to use it as a meeting room for our group. We agreed, while still horribly confused by the transformation between the two of them. Soon, the room was decorated with the colors of all the houses, the room growing in size as we each had more ideas. The room did not remain a secret however, and soon the Room of Requirements became the Castle Common Room. All the houses mingled within the massive room, and the creation of it was ignored. But we knew better and simply enjoyed the new common ground we had created.

My fourth year was filled with a lot of drama in my little group of friends. Another three additions were added to the group though they tended to go off on their own. These new members just happened to be my little brother, Chris; James's and Al's little sister, Lily; and Rose's little brother, Hugo. While Chris and I can be considered polar opposites, we can still agree on most subjects when pressed. Actually, we all had pretty healthy relationships with our siblings. The younger three pushed out into their own groups of friends but we are all still considered part of the Misfits.

The "Great Drama", which I jokingly titled it, was when Scorpius asked Rose out. While we would never did fault him for trying, James was beside himself trying to spy on them. I was dragged along of course. Renfro and Sean seemed to like the idea so they joined in too. In the end, only the girls of the group weren't working as full time ninjas. James kept wanting to try and break them up, but it was up to me to keep him in line during the spying. In the end, we actually didn't end up having to do anything. Scorpius caved under Rose's notable temper after a couple of months. I found it rather entertaining how James switched from keeping them apart to angrily yelling at Scorpius about breaking up with her.

The real fireworks happened when Rose found out. We are still not sure who caved first, though I suspect that James probably slipped up at some point. At the end of the year, we all ended up in the medical wing with endless boils and other notable hexes decorating our bodies. In the end, it took a massive amount of begging and groveling to stop the attacks. Note to self, never piss off the smartest girl at Hogwarts.

My fourth year came to an end with a question that would influence most of my life. Gryffindor 4th years, all two of us, were finishing our final exam for the year. I was struggling while James was already passing in the final part of the written portion. Giving me a thumbs up, he walked out with some added swagger in his step just to show off. Rolling my eyes, I looked up to my Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, Teddy Lupin. The Professor was James' uncle in a sense, so they were pretty close. He was even willing to tutor me when I had trouble with some parts of the class. I chuckled when I noticed the professor's hair change color while he was distracted while grading the test. Looking up, he smirked and his color turned into a plaid that I'm sure Renfro would be able to recognize.

Laughing, I stand to hand my paper over to him before I make a mistake and go back to change a probably correct answer. Placing it on the desk I asked him something that I had been dying to ask since seeing his rare ability as a Metamorphmagus. "Is there any way I can learn how to change?"

Looking at me weirdly, Professor Lupin laughed. "Outside of a polyjuice potion, I think you are stuck looking like that."

Fighting back a chuckle, I keep a serious face on. "No, I mean like animals. We learned about it last year in transfiguration, but Professor Sanchez refuses to tell me how! I've been through every book I can find in the school. I even broke into...um, I mean I searched the entire library for it." I brought my hand to my face, I just couldn't believe I was the one to snitch on myself after all the trouble me and Renfro went through.

The professor, apparently choosing to ignore my accidental confession, brought his hands together on the table. "You mean animagus John, its the skill to take on the form of an animal." Smiling, he stood up and walked over to his private bookshelf. "In fact, I took an interest in it when I was trying to master my own unique abilities." Pulling a brown book down, he walked back. "It seemed like something I should look into since I already had the ability to change my appearance, why not an animal?"

Placing the book on his crowded desk, he looked me in the eye. "However, you must understand that becoming an entirely different species is incredibly hard and I even I eventually had to admit that I would rather remain human." Smiling again, he looked at the book with fondness. "I gave it one hell of a try though."

Glancing back up at me, he made his way around his desk and sat back down. "If you are set on doing this, then I want you to take the summer and think it over. This book, while it can hint at the process, will also show you how difficult of a task this will be." Pushing the book towards me he smiled and finished, "If you return your fifth year and wish to still try, then I will be glad to help you however I can."

Of course I happily agreed, grabbing the book and running out like a crazed person to show my friends. It was a relief to everyone else in the group, mostly because I had spent half the year obsessing over it. On the train ride back, I poured over the book with an intensity that made even Rose stare. While I was known for sneaking muggle books into school, I rarely read something that could be considered academic.

I passed the summer doing everything I could to research the animagus transformation. It clearly stated that I would could only become one animal, which didn't matter to me at the moment since I simply wanted to prove to the Professor that I could do it. The transformation was supposed to be difficult and painful when first learning. One mistake could trap you between the two forms with no hope of changing back. I studied all the notes and theories until I felt that I could possibly do it on my own. Which I tried to do, and unfortunately succeeded.

With Maggie's help, who found out about my obsession and decided she wanted in on it, too, I made to transform into whatever animal I was meant to be. That was the first challenge that came out way: the fact we had no idea what animal to envision ourselves as. It was hard to think like an animal if you had no idea what you were going to be. Through the books we practiced meditation, and other techniques to figure out the transformation. Months went by before we got any clue to our animals. When Maggie sprouted orange hair, not only on her head but everywhere at once, we figured we were on the right track.

Maggie made faster progress than me after that, quickly learning that her animal was a tiger. It was another couple of weeks until my skin was replaced by smooth brown scales. Knowing I was a reptile, but not knowing the species kept me back until almost the last week before school started again. Maggie was already bouncing around in the dark at the local parks at night while I struggled to bring the animal out of me. I finally found the reason when, only getting as far as the scales still, I fell forward while practicing and landed flat on the ground. When Maggie raced to me, instead of a sprawled out teenager, she found a 15 foot anaconda looking around frantically. I was panicking due to the fact I had no arms yet my head was still rising from the ground. I had succeeded! But of course I couldn't leave it well enough alone after achieving the impossible.

While I was happy to finally figure out my transformation I realized something I rather lacked. Speed. Anacondas could move swiftly in water and mud, but Maggie was running literal circles around me. Though another issue, that I am ashamed to admit, I was jealous of the height she now had on me. I was so frustrated, that after a few hours at the park I had had enough. Rushing home, I poured over the books trying to see if there was a way to change my animal choice. Nothing came up, and my victory seemed so hollow to me now.

The school year began soon after that. Maggie secretly told our group about our accomplishment over the summer. Lucky for me, both of our transformations would be too awkward to fit into the tiny room. But she promised to show them the first chance she got. In my bag however was the book our professor had given us. I had not given up on trading out my transformation.

We started the year like every other year. Only I did my best to avoid Professor Lupin's questions on the animagus subject. I had no idea at the time about the legal reasons behind animagus practicing. I simply knew that animagus registered, I had no idea that Azkaban waited for those who failed to follow the law.

And so I continued to practice in secret throughout the year, only stopping when Rose and Renfro started to bug me about the upcoming O.W.L's. And they had to drag me back to the castle, almost literally, so that I could actually have a chance to pass my classes. My work quickly turned to obsession, trying to change newfound ability. My anaconda form felt more like a curse than an achievement. Maggie would leave some nights and simply run the forest. The only thing I could do with any grace was swim the lake. I refused to see the light though, jealous of what Maggie could do that I couldn't.

The real problems, that would cause echoes throughout the rest of my life, happened when I succeeded. I pushed for an animal, any animal while trying to force myself to form something other than scales. I was so angry with myself, both for the continuous failure and the fact I was finally realizing how selfish this obsession was turning out to be. It happened suddenly and without any warning. The last thing I remember from that night was watching coarse brown hair moving up my arm before everything turned black.

I woke up the next morning back in my four poster bed. Turning over I see a very disgruntled James sleeping in a chair next to my bed. Wincing as I sat up, I noticed that my side was wrapped up with numerous bandages. Hearing a snoring sound, I glanced over to see a fairly large feline laying at the foot of James' bed. Groaning I collapsed back down onto my bed, my side burning getting the better of my.

When everyone awoke later, I learned that I had achieved my ambition. However, my transformation was not a friendly one. After some research, we figured I had become a version of a Kodiak bear, comparable to the polar bear in size. I had apparently come storming out of the forest where I had been practicing and had barreled into Hagrid's cottage. Maggie, Scorpius and Albus had actually been hunting for me when they heard the , they found me wrestling our half giant of a teacher out of his own front door. Maggie morphed and came to Hagrid's rescue. Unfortunately, even in her larger form, I still outweighed her by close to a thousand pounds. Scorpius and Albus launched multiple stunning spells whenever they could get a shot in while the two animals swiped at each other. The fighting went on for a while before I finally succumed to the spells.

I apparently transformed back after an hour while Hagrid was still trying to think of what to do with the unconscious bear. Scorpius and Albus, who knew of my obsession over the last year, immediately jumped into action. They promised Hagrid a full explanation and, with a weary Maggie in tow, got me back to the Gryffindor tower. James was in hysterics, mostly because he missed the "awesome" tiger and bear fight, but promised to keep an eye on me just in case I awoke. Maggie decided that she had to stay too, since James couldn't possibly hold his ground if I changed again.

In the end, we found a new side effect of animagus training. Trying to change your transformation after the fact may lead to your animals becoming unstable and tied to your emotions. The snake was not replaced by the bear, it simply gained some company. I found that stress and intense feelings caused my control over my abilities to falter and I rarely had control while I slithered or stomped around. O.W.L's did not help my condition either when even studying became a hazard to my friends.

But my obsession had clouded my judgement and I had to pour myself into my studies whenever I had a good day. The others helped me alot, bringing study material to Hagrid's and anywhere else we could find outside where I was free to lose control if I needed to. I owed them a lot for putting up with me. Sean and Renfro, being the best stunners, would usually team up with Maggie for keeping watch over me while I had particularly bad days. James usually tagged along because he wanted to watch what he called, "The Battles of the Furry Giants." He was also fairly cautious around me after a few morning of waking up to a grumpy thousand pound bear in the next bed.

My brother was concerned, since he had to take me home after this and even I wasn't sure how my parents would take the transformations. Especially when they were dangerous to those around me. O.W.L's finally showed up and I was lucky enough to get a calming draught from the nurse after faking a massive anxiety attack. I made it through all of my tests with barely a hiccup, other than having to run out of my charms test when I felt the familiar itch of the transformation beginning. That and changing during the Care of Magical Creatures but Hagrid was willing to cover for me while I slipped into the lake with my scales still intact.

I was able to pass almost all of my classes, though my bad grade in Divination still made me wince for days. I got an O in Care of Magical Creatures and an E in Herbology, Transfiguration. I still figure I should have tried for a higher grade in Charms, though the A I got was enough to take it the next year. I passed Potions by the skin of my teeth too, I had Renfro to thank for helping with some last minute cramming.

Even with my condition, the school year ended on a high note with all of us fifth years passing the classes we were set on taking the next year. I made it an effort the thank my friends and apologize for the way I acted during the first part of the year. Though I might have gone overboard when James finally threatened to throw me off the tower if I said, "I'm sorry" just one more time.

The summer before sixth year was...interesting to say the least. I had to tell my parents of my new...skill and it of course ended up with me grounded from everything non magical that I would usually use to entertain myself. My father decided not to have me registered, though he had my Marking written down. My anaconda's head had brown on top and red going down my neck. The bear, after I was knocked out, had one silver claw where I wore a metal ring that my parents gave to me. He wanted these just in case I could become registered after we got everything figured out. I choose not to tell them about Maggie, since it would only lead to more questions about where we got the help. And I really wanted to avoid getting Professor Lupin involved.

My parents kept me a secret, and luckily my friends kept the fact from their parents as well. Though I'm sure the three legends of Hogwarts would get a kick out of it. The summer was filled with trying to learn at least a little control over the massively furry creature I became. Maggie was usually on hand when we went to practice. The rest of the Misfits would meet whenever we could, usually in Diagon Alley. I had newfound problems around groups of people, mostly due to worrying I would decide to eat a few of them, but my friends made sure to drag me there when ever I was having one of my better days.

The summer passed, with me still having multiple episodes a month with the bear having an active rampage that I always blacked out through. The only think I could say I accomplished was that my anaconda form was at least mostly under control, with only a few slips into more animal instincts. The bus ride was a stressful time for me, as the small spaces really wouldn't survive the rage of a half ton bear. Maggie and my brother were keeping me company, though I knew my brother had a stunning spell ready just in case. Rose joined us after she was done with her patrol of the cars. James, Renfro, Sean and Rose were all chosen as prefects and they all, except perhaps James, took it very seriously.

My issues didn't go away, in fact, they got worse in the castle's walls. I had to be constantly outside the walls whenever I had a chance. Once again, it was due to my friends that nobody was hurt from my mistake. Hagrid even put in a good word with the centaurs after they took a shot at me one night. The world was one big stress test after another and I felt trapped in my own skin. And my self proclaimed protectors were watching me fade, and fast. Lucky for all of us, I happened to slither out of one of my classes. Lucky for me, I just happened to be the only one in the class.

We had just finished working on perfecting the _Patronus _charm, mine turned out to be a snake so no surprise there. The Professor had pulled me aside, and asked me to stay behind after class. So there I was, James giving me a concerned look before walking outside to probably try and contact the rest of the group. I could already feel the twitch beginning, the itch between my shoulder blades meant that I should have already started to run for the forest. But I was instead talking with the one person who could possibly guess what was going on.

Professor Lupin stood up from his desk and walked over to me. "John, you have been avoiding me this year." Standing in front of me, he looked me in the eye. "What happened? I noticed you have changed over the last year, so serious and during your O.W.L you kept glancing towards the door more than your opponent. You even failed to produce a patronus for the test, after perfecting it so early in the year."

He stepped back and began pacing. "I feel like this has something to do with the book I gave you, one that you still seemed to 'forget' once again this year." Finally walking to his desk, he leaned against it, his hair turning from its usual blue to a red as he asked, "What trouble have you gotten yourself into?"

I was in full panic mode, not due to being found out, but the fact that the itch was now burning down my shoulders and onto my arms. Due to my robes, I couldn't tell what the transformation would be. I stood there, at this point too far from the point of no return to stop it. I only could hope that I wouldn't hurt anyone if it turned out to be brown hair on my arms.

The professor stood straight and walked back over to where I was standing. When he grabbed my shoulders, I finally looked up to see the concern in his eyes. He finally asked, "You didn't try on your own did you?"

I shuddered, though again due to the itch more than the question. I felt his grip on my shoulders tighten as he grew alarmed. "John! What happened?!" Giving my shoulders a shake when I still didn't respond he continued in a panicked voice. "Did something go wrong? Do you need help?"

Thats when I noticed the scales crawling down my fingers and I released a breath of relief. Looking up at my panicked professor I finally replied. "I did it Professor, I actually figured it out." I saw him visibly relax, his hair calming back into its usual blue. But it quickly wavered with my next sentence. "But it's what I did afterwards that became a problem."

I completely relaxed my leg muscles as the transformation took me. My robes were pulled in as scales blossomed across my visible skin. I fell down as my shoulders vanished beneath the hands holding them. Coiling myself to catch my weight, I looked up at my very surprised professor. Giving a slight bow of my head I moved towards the door, opening it with a tail, and ran under James' and Rose's feet. The two of them were apparently trying to figure out a way to get me out of the room before I changed. I don't fault them of course, it would have been a close thing anyway.

After a quick slither around to simply think, I changed back and headed back to the classroom. I found that I had a longer break from the itch the longer I stay in either form. I figure it was because I couldn't turn into the other animal while there. The professor was sitting behind his desk, his head in his hands. When I walked up to the desk, he wiped his hands down his face before looking at me. His hands laced together while he looked at me with a mixture of pity and worry.

Sighing, he simply said again, "What have you gotten yourself into?"

With a sheepish look, I pulled out the book he had let me borrow. After so long dodging questions, I finally told the story from beginning to end. The initial struggle and then the selfish obsession to change what I had accomplished. I eventually found myself sitting in a chair across from the desk, just explaining what I had been going through this last year. Professor Lupin simply listened, asking a few questions. After I finished, I simply sat there feeling the itch already start due to the stress of telling it.

The professor sat back in his chair, just absorbing the story I had told him. He then asked me to wait while he went to get something. Coming back, he had two glasses of butterbeer in hand. Placing one in front of me, he retook his seat and looked at me over the edge of the glass.

We talked well through my lunch break, the house elves bringing us a small meal while we continued to discuss my situation. Rose would have had a fit. In the end, we decided to set up practice days within the Forbidden Forest. Professor Lupin felt that I had, due to my desire to change my animal, I had somehow altered my personality just enough to create the new transformation. Unfortunately, it seemed that this caused the "itch" since the two different forms were in a constant battle for dominance and that stress caused the current dominant to rise up on its own accord.

While the professor wasn't sure I could "forget" the one animal, he wanted me too at least learn to control the one that I had somehow forced out. Than at least I wouldn't have to worry about losing control whenever the itch became unbearable in a public setting.

The others of my group seemed just as relieved as I was at the new outside help. I apparently wasn't the only one losing sleep over my problem. I made sure to make it perfectly clear to Maggie that I would be fine with the professor, and that she needed to concentrate on her O.W.L's that were coming up at the end of the next school year. Though she grudgingly agreed, I still swear I noticed some striped fur moving between the trees during my lessons.

The others would come along to watch my progress since they were all so invested in it already. Rose would usually sit there with a large book, one filled either Runes or another difficult class I had passed on. I mention her specifically because she was one of my favorites of the group to come watch. The others made it their goal in life to push my resolve during the lessons, yelling and making enough noise that my bear instincts sounded almost like a good idea at times.

The year was filled with training for me. Any hope I had to stop this danger from affecting those around me was worth it. Though there was something that kind of threw me for a loop when I finally came up for air. Walking into the Castle Common Room with James, I noticed a pair sitting on one of the couches in the middle of the room. One, the girl, had long red hair while the other one had very familiar brown hair. Walking around the furniture to get a better look, the whole time thinking _it can't be him_, I finally got a good view of their faces. Sitting there, "snogging" like there was nobody else in the busy common room, was my brother and Lily Potter. In shock I could only look over at a very grumpy looking James and grab him in a bear hug yelling "BROTHER-IN-LAW!". The bruise was totally worth the look on the couples faces.

The year was exciting, with my control growing stronger by the month. I even tried my hand at the apparation class, though the idea of more stress put most of my friends on edge during the lesson. But I was able to pass, with minor splinching when my itch broke my focus. While it is useful, I planned to walk most of the time.

My sixth year ended with a great accomplishment on my part. The challenge was not in the class but in the bedroom. And no, it was not that particular dirty task. I was to sleep in the same room as James as I do every night, but I had to remain a bear ttill the sun rose. James of course had multiple protections laced around his bed to stop me or at least wake him up if something went wrong. But I made it through the night, only waking up twice to check that James was still there.

My year ended without any new problems adding up to my growing list. Professor Lupin had me promise to keep practicing throughout the summer, adding new stimuli to the larger form to see how much control I had. My tests went wonderfully, due to the fact I could pick out my classes this semester through my O.W.L's. My chosen career at the moment was Magizoologist, which seemed appropriate with my current obsession with animals. Hagrid couldn't be more overjoyed, saying he couldn't wait for me the next year.

Returning to the station, the Misfits took their leave of each other, promising to get us all together again as soon as possible. We all apparently had trips planned this year, and my brother had gotten to choose. It would probably be somewhere cold. And so my sixth year came to a close, and my final year was ahead of me. I both dreaded it and I couldn't wait for the beginning of the end.

XXX

Closing my notebook I had recieved for my birthday this year, I looked out of the car window to see Kings Cross coming into view. My brother was talking adamantly about the classes he was taking this year, and at the prospect of seeing Lily soon. Or at least he would be if he didn't have his headphones shoved into his earlobes. He only had a couple of minutes left to listen to any muggle music before he had to put it away for another semester. I couldn't blame him, its just that I wanted to be able to hear after we got on the train.

I had finally started to catch up on my journal, deciding I needed to get used to writing down my observations. The idea of writing had always interested me, so what could be more exciting to read than a boy going to a magical school? This journal was the first story I was positive I would finally finish. All seven years written down in the small black book. And why not? A multi-animagus was not something you saw everyday after all.

My parents pulled up to the curb and I reached for Webster's cage. Today he was a large spider, since he seemed to enjoy the speed he got in the form. The irony of his name wasn't lost on me, I figured he knew he would be a test subject eventually. Getting out of the car, I turned to see Sean and Renfro already standing near the entrance to the platform. Making my way over, I pushed down the itch for now and greeted my friends with my head held high.


	3. Maggie

**Maggie**

I sighed, straightening out my shirt. I was wearing my favourite blue and yellow graphic tee shirt, a pair of yellow denim short shorts, and a pair of secret wedges. My brown hair was actually curled for once, which made me _very_ happy. I did my makeup just right, too. Everything was coming together for my fifth year. And as my first year as a Prefect. I smiled at my reflection in the mirror. I was really short for my age, but I had grown in other ways over the summer. I had curves in all the right places now and my acne was gone - thanks to the anti-acne potion that my mother bought me when she was in Milan. My neutral makeup did wonders for my chocolate eyes, and the red lipstick made my lips pop in just the right way. My dark eyes shone brightly in the sunlight coming through my window. I twirled in front of my mirror in absolute bliss when there was a knock on my door.

"Maggie," my mother's voice called out from the other side of the door. I ran to it to open it. She was a squib who was jealous of my powers and talents. Everybody saw it, yet she never admitted to it. "Maggie, it's time to go." I nodded and ran to my trunk. Picking it up, I hauled it downstairs and to the car that my father borrowed from the ministry. I was excited to go back to Hogwarts, especially to see my boyfriend of three years, Eric Jones. He was a seventh year Ravenclaw and the new Head Boy. I was so proud of him when he told me the news. We had gone out to the cinema to see a muggle zombie film. It was fantastic.

When I reached the car, I found my brother and my father having another row. My brother was born a squib and did not fully understand magic, hence why the two always fought. Like me, my father was a wizard. He had fought in the Second Wizarding War in 1998, two years after he had graduated. We were very different, though. My father had been a Hufflepuff; I, on the other hand, was a Slytherin. At first, I had been disappointed by this fact. But then I met one of my best friend's father, Harry Potter, the summer after my first year. I can still remember what he had told me like it was yesterday...

"_Maggie, being in Slytherin is _not _a terrible thing. Yes, some dark wizards came out of that house, but it isn't the end of the world. Some of the best people I've ever known came out of Slytherin. And you know what? They were all good people. Slytherins are known for their ambition. They strive for greatness and achieve it. This can only mean that you are destined for great things. Do you want to hear a secret? _I _was almost put into Slytherin. And look how I turned out!"_

From that day on, I never looked at being a Slytherin in the same way. Shaking my head, I put my trunk in the back of the car.

"Doug, go get Mum," I insisted to my brother. He sighed and ran inside. My father put his hands on top of his peppered, balding heading and mouthed, "Thank you." I smiled and nodded at him. At that moment, my mother and brother come out of the garage.

"Come along now, you will be late if you don't hurry," my mother called to us. I rolled my eyes as I plopped into the backseat of the car with Doug. Soon afterwards, we departed for London. It was a two hour drive from Northern Suffolk to Central London. I spent the majority of it just watching the scenery pass by and singing to myself. The latter of the two continually pissed my mother off. She did not like the fact that I wanted to be a singer for a living. The only person who understood that was my cousin, John. He was the only person that I ever sang to. He claimed that I was very good. I was always too nervous to sing for anyone else - even my boyfriend. John was my best friend from when we were toddlers. We would always chase each other around on our practice brooms and play "Flying Tag".

I shook my head clear as we pulled into a parking garage. I sat up straighter as the engine stopped. I hopped out and helped my dad get my trunk out and onto a cart. I pushed it through the bustling crowd towards Platform 9 ¾. I found it and ran at the barrier. I passed through without a problem. It was around ten o'clock when we arrived on the platform. I was looking at the bright red engine that always brought me home when I bumped into someone tall.

"Well, well, well," a deep voice speculated. "Look what the cat dragged in." I moved around the cart to give Albus Potter a punch on the arm.

"Fuck you, Al," I smirked. He laughed and gave me a hug.

"Same old 'Little Maggie,'" he chuckled. I laughed at the nickname that they had gladly bestowed upon me in my first year. We pulled away and he took my carriage. "We're all over here." He pointed to a spot across the platform that was filled with a large group of people. The group consisted of James Potter, John Brehm, Rose Weasley, Hugo Weasley, Christian Brehm, Lily Potter, Jonathan Renfro, Scorpius Malfoy and Sean Torrellas. I was a little sad about not seeing Eric, but I smiled and walked alongside Al to the group. It was going to be a great year. As I approached, Rose squealed and ran to hug me. I hugged her tightly back. Even though she was a Gryffindor, she was still my closest best friend.

"Wow, Maggie! Look at you! You've become a woman!" At this, all of the males in the group turned to look at me. She was right - I had become a woman. I tried to ignore the looks that my guy friends gave me as I caught up with everyone. Rose and Hugo had gone to EuroDisney for a week. Hermione had been the only one to understand what anyone was saying, which made for some funny interactions with the Parisians. James, Al, and Lily all went to Australia for a months. They were all very burnt to a crisp. John and Chris went backpacking in the Alps for six weeks. They brought back several amazing photos, including one of John getting headbutted by a mountain goat. Jonathan worked at the Leaky Cauldron to get money for school. Sean just stayed at home to play video games. I walked up to Scorpius last. He had been gawking at me practically the whole time that I was talking to everyone else. When I approached him, he straightened up and hugged me tightly.

"It's good to see you again, Maggie," he hummed into my ear. I smiled and hugged him tighter. Out of all of my friends, he was the one who understood me the most. Besides John, that is. He was also the one that I had had a crush on since I met him. He had grown again - he was probably the second tallest in the group now. His jawline was more defined and he had muscles. He was wearing a deep purple shirt, a pair of white boardshorts, and a pair of black hi-top Chucks. His normally long, blond hair had been cut short and styled into a faux hawk. His sky blue eyes shone with an emotion that I could not understand.

"It's good to see you, too, Scorp," I whispered, breaking away from him. I could remember the day that we became friends...

_I was running through the halls in my first year, crying, trying to find an empty classroom. It was nearly May. Scorpius had excluded me for the hundredth time, and I finally had enough of his antics. He had told me that I was an annoying brat who should never have come to Hogwarts. Then he had called me a half-blood. We had been hanging out with James, John, Al, Sean, Rose, and Jonathan when he had said those things._

_ I heard someone close behind me. I ran faster and rounded a corner. I did not want to get caught crying. I was stronger than that. I quickly went into the closest empty classroom and closed the door. I ran to the back right corner of the room, throwing some desks to barricade myself. I plopped down to the floor and buried my head in my knees. The person opened the door and started moving the desks. I looked up to see that it was Scorpius. I began to scramble away from him._

_ "What? Are you here to make fun of me again? Is calling me a 'Half-Blood' not enough for you? It's enough that I get abused by my family! I don't need it from you, too!" I started sobbing heavily after that. Scorpius just kept on calmly moving desks. He finally reached me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. I flinched at first, but eventually relaxed. We sat like that for a while. I cried into his shoulder and he just sat there._

_ "I'm sorry," he whispered after a while. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for saying those things. I'm sorry for treating you like shite. I never realized it would go that far. I just figured that, since John is your cousin, you would treat me like he would. So I decided to treat you that way, too. I was wrong, and I'm so sorry." I looked up at him to see that he was crying, too. I hugged him back._

_ "I forgive you, Scorpius," I replied. We parted and I smiled, wiping my eyes. I stuck out my hand. "Friends?" He smiled back and shook my hand._

After that day, we were practically thick as thieves.

I went over to talk to the parents. Unlike most people, I viewed everyone as an equal. I truly surprised Harry when I did not react to him as most people would. I soon became practically a member of their family. Rose, Lily, and I would all have sleepovers whenever we could. I was even invited to the Weasley Christmas dinners! Those were always fun. It was a good excuse to get away from my mother and my brother. They were always tag teaming me. They hated the fact that I was able to do magic. And the fact that I was good at music. My mother both physically and mentally abused me. My brother always yelled at me for no apparent reason. And whenever I would yell back, my mother would always defend my brother. He could probably get away with murder and she would defend him to her last breath. My father was the only one who was nice to me in my immediate family, though he tended to be wrapped up in his work and fighting with my brother. So I started to hang out at the Burrow for holidays and birthdays. I felt more at home around my friends than at my own house. 

It was almost eleven by the time I had caught up with everyone. We all put our trunks on the scarlet engine and hugged our families goodbye. I just waved to my family as I hopped on the train. We all walked down to the Compartment of Misfits, as we called it. James always made sure to save the compartment for us. We all waved goodbye to Chris and Lily as they went to go snog off in a compartment by themselves. Well, John just flashed him a thumbs up that made his brother blush and sputter. Both James and Al smacked John on the shoulder and gave his brother the motion that they would be watching. Laughing, Hugo also left to go sit with his fellow Hufflepuff friends.

The rest entered the compartment and all plopped down where we could find room. I sat next to the window and stared out at the platform as the train pulled away. The compartment was full of laughter and taunts as the train began to move. John sat across from me with James sitting in between him and Rose. Jonathan sat on the floor with Sean.I felt someone plop down next to me. I turned to see Scorpius sitting there with Albus on his other side. I smiled at the all of them and pulled out my guitar from my pocket. Hermione had taught me how to expand the pockets on my clothing during our last holiday. I was not allowed to do magic at home - my mother's rule - so I always went over to Rose's or the Potters' to have her help me with magic. All of my pockets were expanded to contain guitars, ukuleles, and even a keyboard at one point. John once asked if I ever found a whole piano in the washing machine.

After resizing it, I began to strum the guitar softly. I closed my eyes as the rest of the group began to argue about Quidditch. I drowned them out as my fingers continued to pluck the strings. I never realized that I had started to sing until after I finished the song, when I opened my eyes to see everyone staring at me, slack jawed.. Everyone except John, who just sat there with a smug grin on his face.

"What?" I inquired. They just sat there, trying to figure out what to say.

"That was fucking incredible," Al said. Everyone shared their agreement ecstatically. I smiled, blushing harder, and looked down.

"Thank you," I murmured. James jumps up began to shout excitedly.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU COULD SING?! YOU ARE INSANELY GOOD! YOU SHOULD START TO RECORD SOME SONGS!" Turning to the rest of us he pointed to himself and loudly announced, "I CALL BEING HER MANAGER-"

"JAMES!" Everyone turned to see Rose looking up from the book she had been reading. Scorpius threw his arms up in front of himself as if to ward off a nonexistent blow. "CALM THE FUCK DOWN! Since when can you manage anything that doesn't involve girls?! Besides, you're going to become a Hit Wizard, remember? You talk enough about them to make that perfectly clear." She then promptly returned to her book. Everyone else relaxed, though James looked a little put out. John chuckled as he patted him on the back with mock comfort. Scorpius leaned over to me.

"That was really good, Maggie," he whispered. I smiled, put my guitar away, then checked my watch. I jumped up in panic.

"The Prefects' meeting is going to start in fifteen minutes!" Scorpius, James, Sean, Jonathan, Rose, and I all jumped up and left the room. We ran to the Prefects' compartment at the front of the train. We made it to the meeting with seconds to spare. I caught my breath as I looked up to see Eric looking guiltily at me. I smiled and shook off any worries, taking a seat next to Scorpius in the back. After we were all settled, The Head Girl began to talk.

"Welcome, Prefects. My name is Aubrey Mullens. This is Eric Jones. We are the Heads for this year. If this is your first year as Prefect, don't be afraid to come and ask us questions. I am in Hufflepuff, Eric is in Ravenclaw. You can always come to us for advice or help."

"This year will be slightly hectic due to some changes in the routine. This year, we will be having a talent show similar to the muggle's _Britain's Got Talent_. We have no idea who gave Headmaster Flitwick the idea, but we'll be creating our own version and call it _Hogwarts's Got Talent_. The tryouts will go on throughout the year, until the end of March."

Everyone was already excited by this news and the Heads had to call us to attention before continuing. "In January, there will be a ball in honour of the top four competitors. You can register for the talent show. If you wish to compete, I wish you the best of luck but you must sign up quickly when we arrive. If you do not wish to compete, then you will be on security detail throughout the season along with your normal duties."

"Now, for normal duties. Fifth years, you will be patrolling the train first. After an hour has passed, make sure you check in here. Sixth years, you will be next. Check in with us before you start and after your hour is up as usual. Seventh years, you will be patrolling last. Please remember to check in with us before you begin. New schedules will be posted in your common rooms every month on the first Saturday. Unlike last year, you will be paired up with someone in a different year for school patrols. With all the commotion, we want the new prefects to become as comfortable with their posts as possible." Clapping her hands together she finished with an enthusiasm. "This is going to be a fantastic year everyone! Fifth years, you may begin your patrols." Everybody jumped up from their seats. Scorpius mussed up my hair.

"Have fun on your first patrol, shorty," he said, turning to head back to the room. I sighed and fixed my hair before leaving the compartment. I walked up and down the whole train three times checking the rooms. I caught Chris and Lily making out. Twice. I was so tempted to tell James and Al where I saw them last. After the hour, I arrived back at the Prefects' Compartment to find Scorpius looking angrily at the ground.

"Hey, Scorp," I called out. He jumped slightly at my voice and his face was flushed with color. I looked at him, confused at his reaction. He ran up to meet me.

"Maggie," he rushed. "I wouldn't go in there if I were you." I looked at him like he was crazy and brushed past him. I put my hand on the handle. I heard him say, "Maggie, don't!" I pulled the door open. I could feel the air freeze in my lungs as my blood ran cold.

There, lying on the floor in all their glory, were Aubrey and Eric. Eric looked up at the sound of the door opening. His dark brown hair was tousled into a mess on his head. His ice blue eyes went from pure joy to utter panic. His abs were heaving as the gravity of the situation fully hit him.

"Eric, love," Aubrey hummed. "What's the... Oh." She rolled out from under him and covered herself up. "Hello... Maggie, right? I'm sorry that you had to see your Heads like this. You are free to go sit down, your shift should be over."

"Aubrey, can I talk to my _boyfriend_ for a second, please?" I asked, my voice filled with venom. She was shocked and then glared at Eric.

"Of course you can. I'm so sorry." She apologized. She glared at the man still on the floor. "He told me he was _single_," she replied while getting dressed. She then slapped him and threw his clothes at his face. Eric looked panicked and kept glancing everywhere but me. I glared at him as he slowly dressed himself. After he was done, he stood up and walked over to me.

"Look, Maggie, I'm sor-," he started. I held up a hand as tears started to flow down my face.

"We're through. I never want to speak to you ever again." I took a shaky breath before turning around. "Goodbye. I hope you're happy," I spat at him. I slammed the door in his face and started to run down the train corridor. Scorpius tried to stop me, but I pushed past him. I ran down to the creepy, old compartments at the back of the train that most students avoided. I opened the door to one of them and hid myself inside, closing the blinds. I curled up on the floor, and let myself fall apart.

I heard a soft knock on the door. "Go away!" I thundered. "I just want to be left alone!" The door opened and John, Scorpius, Al, James, Sean, Jonathan, and Rose all clambered into the room. Rose hurried over to me and hugged me.

"Maggie, what happened," she inquired. I choked out on a sob.

"I was doing rounds, and I caught... Eric and Aubrey... in the act... Scorpius tried to stop me, but I was just trying to check in at the end of my shift... I feel so stupid..." I continued to sob uncontrollably. Rose tucked my head into her shoulder. All the boys simply talked amongst themselves before turning to leave. Scorpius turned back before closing the door and simply said, "We will be back soon, this won't take long." Rose helped me up and lead me to one of the washrooms closer to our room. My makeup was ruined and my hair was frizzy. She led me back to our compartment and we talked about anything. Everything. At least anything to keep my mind off of Eric. I began to chuckle slightly after a while. Rose gave me a weird look.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" This only made me laugh harder.

"Who knew that the boys would ever agree on something?" Rose looked at me, confused. I smirked. "They all went after Eric for what he did I think. Did you not realize that?" She began to laugh alongside me. We laughed until we were crying and our sides were sore. We were just getting over our bout of laughter when John came running in, yelling about mouthwash and toothpaste. This sent us into another round of giggles. He just rolled his eyes at us as he searched for what he wanted in his trunk. Once he found them, he scampered off to the bathroom. He came back two minutes later, brushing his teeth vigorously. We continued to laugh at him from our seat. He removed his brush from his mouth and shouted, "FUCK YOU!" However, with all of the foam in his mouth spraying everywhere, it sounded more like, "Uck Ooh!" Which only made us laugh harder. He just decided to sit down and glare at us from across the small room. At that moment, Scorpius entered the room. He gave Rose and I weird looks as he went over to John.

"Are you alright," he asked. My jaw hit the floor. Scorpius _never _cared about John before. John just nodded his head and Scorpius patted him on the back.

"What is going on here," Rose demanded. Scorpius turned toward us.

"Well, we all went over to exact revenge on Eric for hurting the baby of the group." He smirked at me before continuing. "James, Al and I got to him first. John transformed and apparently hid under the seat, only to bite him square in his...naughty bits." There was a gag from behind him but Scorpius simply laughed. "The look on Eric's face afterwards was priceless. I am not sure what J-ren and Sean did to him after we left, but James and Al went to go do patrol afterwards." With that, Scorpius sat down across from me.

Except for the occasional spitting and gargling noises coming from John, we were primarily silent for a while. Scorpius finally looked over at me and smiled.

"You should enter the talent show." I blushed and looked down.

"What would my talent be, Scorp" I asked timidly. He laughed in disbelief.

"Singing, of course! Merlin, you can be daft sometimes!" At that, Rose snorted. He looked to her. "What?"

"That's rich, coming from you," she hissed. Scorpius glared at her but did not retort. I shook my head at them. She then moved on to me. "I'm ashamed to say this, but I agree with Scorpius. You should sing in the talent show. I'm pretty sure you'll win." I smiled at her and hugged her. She hugged me back before pulling away. "Pull out your guitar! Play us another song!" I sighed and hauled it out of my pocket. I began to gently pluck the tune of "Blackbird" by the Beatles. I shut my eyes as I began to sing.

_"Blackbird singing in the dead of night_

_ Take these broken wings and learn to fly..."_

I sang the song with all of my heart and soul. I did not notice the door open and shut a couple of times during the course of the song. When I finished, I was greeted with the sound of several people applauding the song. I opened my eyes to see a rather large group of people standing in the corridor, listening to me. I smiled and bowed my head, shrinking and putting my guitar away. Checking my watch, I saw that it that it was still time to change into my robes. I stood up, produced my robes from my trunk, and went to exit the room. I found this particularly difficult. There were more people than I had anticipated in the hall. They were all trying to praise me as I moved past them. All fifty of them. I had to yell at quite a few of them to move. Finally, I burst through the mass in the hallway and ran to the bathroom to change. I emerged a few minutes later, wearing my black robes with my Slytherin Prefect badge on it. Everyone had cleared the hallway, which made me happy. I returned to the compartment to see everyone else had changed into their robes as well. We all sat down and chatted until we gradually pulled into Hogsmeade station.


	4. James

**James**

We stomped down the hallway towards the Head's room. Well, I stomped at least. I figured the rest of them were flanking me in a cool, menacing way. Glancing back, I see that J-ren and Sean had gotten the idea, almost too well. John, Al and Scorp, however, were simply walking in the back, whispering about something.

I stopped in the middle of the hallway; the two behind me unfortunately lost their scary credibility when they slammed into me. Pushing past them, I walked back to the three trailing behind. The look of strain on John's face however stopped me in my tracks. That look usually followed an episode with one of two animals making an appearance.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, I had to ask. "Is it bad today?"

John simply nodded, the shoulder under my hand was twitching like crazy. The idea of revenge was pushed back for the moment while the group instead turned to the bigger problem. If the snake was coming, that was a much easier thing to cover for. But the bear was an issue. Even if he kept control, there wasn't enough space on the train for his bulky form to hide.

Al and I nodded to each other and started to roll up his sleeves. John was taking short breaths, his shoulders jerking sometimes with the effort not to "scratch" this itch. I was already planning where we could try and put the bear, maybe in one of the abandoned old compartments in the back. But those plans were set on hold when we reached his elbows and we found scales instead of fur.

Everyone gave a sigh of relief. But Sean and Renfro were nowhere to be seen, which was weird considering how closely they had been following me. Glancing around, I shrugged it off. They probably went ahead to find the bastard.

Looking back at the forced smile John had on as he fixed his cloths, an idea came to mind. "Alright you three, I think I have the perfect plan in store for our cheater."

Later, we stood outside the compartment that Eric had decided to take. Probably not wanting to go back to the Head's after his discovery. I turned to the other two, Al and Scorpius had murder in their eyes. I doubt I was any different but the prefect badges on our chests meant that we couldn't do anything lasting without having it easily traced back to us. But there was one person in our group who could really "let loose" without fearing anything in return.

Pushing our ears to the door, the three of us listened to the conversation inside. We waited for the best time to jump the sorry sack of shit. That's when we heard something that would push everything to the next level in our minds.

We recognized Eric talking on the other side. "I knew it was a mistake choosing Maggie from the start, but she had it in with those so called 'Misfits'. I figured it was a gang at first, people who held the most weight in the school. I wanted that respect more than anything and look at me now! Head boy and swimming in adoring fans to boot!"

The Misfits at the door turned to each other, all of us mouthing, _gang_? But before we could think it over, Eric continued with a sigh.

"That bitch though, she wouldn't give me any action! I mean, it's been months and the most we had done was second base! What was I supposed to do? I have never gone dry for that long, and when I saw an opening with Aubrey I took it in a heartbeat! But now I'm out of the club and it's that entire short bitch's fault…"

We had all heard enough by this point. Shoving the door open the three of us stormed into the room, wands raised. The two students Eric had been speaking to leapt up at the sound. When they recognized us, I could almost see their life flash before their eyes. _Hmm,_ I thought, _maybe we really should try and get rid of the gang image after this._

Motioning behind us, Scorpius growled, "Get out."

The two glanced to Eric, who seemed to be silently pleading for them to stay, and then they both sprinted for the hallway behind us. Al reached back and stopped the door from closing all the way after their exit. When all three wands were trained on him again, Eric seemed to realize the seriousness of the situation.

Keeping his hands up, his voice shook as he pleaded, "Look guys, you have the wrong idea. It was a moment of weakness, nothing more. I..I love Maggie but she simply overreacted to something that didn't mean anything." Glancing between us he continued. "Come on, don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same! Aubrey is a real dueler under the sheets if you-"

Before he could finish, Scorpius lunged for him, quickly bringing a knee to his midsection and slamming a fist into the scums temple. The door behind us slammed closed, seemingly of its own accord but we were all too focused on the gasping form to notice.

Scorpius wiped the sweat from his forehead, his face still red from anger. Looking at the two of us he shrugged, "Sorry, his voice was really getting to me."

Shrugging back I said, "I was a step behind you, but I figured a _Stupefy _was a little too lenient."

When the figure on the started to sit back up, he looked up at us with pure hatred in his eyes. "How dare you hit the Headboy! I will see you all expelled, along with that bitch who put you up to-" This time, Al's boot hit him square in the jaw, sending him fumbling back into the wall.

I had to object to that one. "Come on, you guys aren't going to leave me with anything, are you? And what happened to becoming a Mediwizard?" Turning to my brother I put an arm around his shoulders and chuckled. "Because I doubt any other Healer could have shut him up any better!"

I crouched down next to the groaning bundle on the floor. "Now we are going to help you up, and get rid of the bruises. We had planned to simply threaten you, but you should know, some things are just too tempting." Al kneeled down beside me, and began casting a few _Episkey _spells on the larger of the bruises. Scorpius was less than pleased with this, but what we planned next would definitely make him feel better.

I stood up and offered a hand to the asshole. Leaning against the wall, he crossed his arms and simply chose to sit there as Al finished up his jaw. Scorpius rounded him and we both watched as my brother checked him over. Glancing at the Slytherin, I was alarmed at the hatred that was almost pouring off of him. I knew that he had grown close to Maggie last year, but I had no idea it had reached this level. Chuckling to myself, I realized how much fun this semester was going to turn out to be if my hunch was right.

Scorpius turned his glare to me at my quiet laughter. I looked at him and smiled. "Don't worry," I whispered. "He learned his lesson. And this next part will convince him!"

"What 'next part'? You guys are going to pay for this, I will make sure you all feel triple the pain!" Eric was now glaring at us position on the floor, his face not fully healed from its well-deserved abuse.

Unaffected by the threat, Al stood up and walked back over to us. Stepping over the raised bottom of the doorway and into the hall, I saw the laughter he was holding back on his face. Taking a deep breath, my younger brother turned to our victim one last time. "I removed all the bruising, so there will be no evidence we were here." A smile forced its way onto his face as he finished. "However, I couldn't do anything about the bite on your leg."

The Headboy was puzzled until he noticed motion from under the benches. A very large creature moved, it's coils spanned from one seat to another, crossing the doorway to the other side of the room. We actually had to step over a part of him in order to walk into the hall. The victim paled as a large serpentine head emerged from the shadows and seemed to glare at him. Eric looked up at us in panic, and I almost felt bad for the boy. Even though the bear was bigger, that massive snake was not something I would care to be sharing a room with.

The cheater started to babble, his eyes now glued to the serpent in the room. "Please, call off your pet! This animal is illegal on school grounds, and I will make sure to bring this to the Headmaster's attention as soon as we-" Once again, he was interrupted by hiss from a very annoyed looking snake. Catching the movement, Eric screamed and tried to backpedal away from his attacker. With all the flailing limbs, John was bound to miss his target. Instead of biting a foot or leg, his shot when _way_ farther north than we planned. All three of us in the hallway grimaced and our hands instantly fell to our own vulnerable areas.

Eric's screams however, reached a pitch that I'm sure woke up every dog in the U.K. John, who had pulled back after the initial strike, stared wide eyed at what he had just had in his mouth. Well, as wide eyed as an anaconda could get. Seeing a snake gag was also a first for me that day. What happened next was also something we hadn't planned on. Eric, still clutching his wounded crotch, pulled his wand on the animal. With a strangled cry of _Depulso_, John was lifted into the air and thrown through the wall into the next room. Before any of us could react, J-ren and Sean appeared as if from nowhere. J-ren walking through the doorway and pointed his wand at the Headboy before muttering, "Immobulus."

The boy was frozen in place with his wand still raised. We barely noticed as we left him there to check the next room for a 16 foot long snake. Before we could enter the room, John barreled past us, running down the hallway dry heaving and crying out for mouthwash. I glanced to the other two with a smile and said. "Well, that went better than I thought!"

Walking back the room, we found J-ren sitting on one of the benches while Sean was busy fixing the wall. J-ren had Eric's wand in his hand, looking it over with a thoughtful expression. Glancing up at us, he stored the wand into his robes.

"We wad likes a word wi Eric." He said, his accent unusually strong at the moment.

Giving the cheater a look, he added, "Alone."

Figuring they wanted revenge as much as we did, I found no problem with that. We left the two of them to whatever they felt like doing. Al was late for his shift and I figured I could fill in for Rose since she was with Maggie at the moment. Turning, I notice Scorpius was glancing down where John had been running to earlier.

I gave a dramatic sigh and pushed Scorpius in the direction of our room. He turned to me, his fists already clenched. _Man, he is really touchy after that._

I held up my hands in surrender and pointed down the hallway. "You should probably head down and check on Maggie." Scorpius visibly relaxed after I mentioned her. I couldn't help but smirk. _Oh, I am so going to have fun with this._

I put an arm around Al's shoulders and turned him in the opposite direction. Over my shoulder I say, "Me and Al will cover for Rose's patrol. Oh and we will explain why you're not there too." I kept my smile hidden as we walked away. "Oh and check on John while you're there. It's not everyday you get blown through a wall after all!"

We turned the corner and both of us happened to bump right into Chris, kissing my little sister! It took us a little longer to check in after that.

XXX

Al and I walked back to the Compartment after we finished our patrols. I still can't believe we caught John's brother with Lilly! And three more times after that! With a sigh, I follow my brother into the room. Everyone was sitting in their robes already, even John had found the time to change between brushing his teeth almost continuously. Rose was reading next to him, every once in awhile giving him a glare when he bent over to see what was on her current page.

I smirked, knowing exactly what was going on. John had a crush on Rose for the last year, ever since she started heading out to the forest to study during his practice sessions. While I prided myself with being the big brother, I wasn't too worried about John. I trusted him to keep control around her, both as himself and during his "episodes".

But it was starting to get annoying. Almost everyone sitting here could see what was happening, he wasn't exactly great at hiding his feelings. This issue was that Rose was completely oblivious. John had no luck with girls, and he wasn't one to push anything either. So he was always happy to simply sit on the sidelines when it came to these kinds of things. And personally, I was fed up with him beating around the bush.

Sitting on his other side, he barely glanced at me. At least he noticed me after I "accidentally" shoved him into Rose. Looking back, I might have tried too hard since he ended up sprawled across her lap. But there he was, sprawled out and blushing like mad. Everyone in the room was frozen in place, staring at the spectacle on the bench. Rose was known for her tempers, and interrupting her "book time" was one sure fire way to setting her off.

We all cringed when she moved, John was starting to babble out apologies like a madman when the unthinkable happened. Rose, who had lifted her book when John flew by, simply rested it on his back without a second look at the boy. Everyone in the room, save for Maggie, felt their jaws simply unhook and drop. When the book made contact with his back, John went absolutely still, like it was a knife blade or something equally dangerous.

I couldn't help the snicker rising up, the look on John's face was priceless. Rose still hadn't done anything. Looking closely, I swear there was a slight blush. _I knew it, _I thought with a smile. Before anybody could say anything at the interesting positioning, we heard the squeal of the trains breaks. Outside the window was the town of Hogsmeade, and that meant we were finally here!

We all got up, though now Rose seemed a little trapped. I noticed that blush grow a bit before she unceremoniously half stood and spilled the taller boy onto the ground. I groaned as my friends all laughed it off, even the hopeless romantic on the floor was chuckling. _Is nobody going to talk about this?_

I turned only to see Rose calmly pulling her trunk down and start pushing it towards the door. Everyone else followed her lead and soon it was only me and John, who had regained his feet. The idiot was standing there bright red and rubbing his neck.

Closing the door really quick, I turn on him with a sigh. "Really? I literally push you into your crushes lap and you do nothing?" I threw up my hands for added effect, I mean it might have been an accident but it had turned into a perfect opportunity. And this fool had squandered it!

John sat down on the seat, his spider-frog was now sitting on his shoulder. I didn't even want to know where that had been hiding this whole time. John sighed and dropped his head into his hands.

"James, I appreciate the help but I don't know what to do." He let out a chuckle, but this had none of his usual humor in it. "I've dug myself too far into the friend-zone for this one. And I'm terrified of breaking it. What happens to our little group if I fuck it up?"

Now I knew it was difficult for him. While he would cuss when joking around, it was rare that he did it when he was serious. Sitting beside him I really didn't have any advice for him. John had a knack for being friendly to everyone, and I mean everyone. It wasn't a bad thing, he just made friends wherever he went. The problem was that he couldn't seem to push past this "Friend-zone". Which I had noticed had evolved into a real issue for him over the years. He treasured his friendships too much to risk losing them.

I put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a shake. "Rose is a strong girl John, you should know that by now. You get a punch more often than Scorpius these days." He lifted his head at this and let out a laugh. Well, it looked like I was on the right track with this. "You need to take that leap eventually. What are you going to do if someone else grabs her first?"

The low growl from him was not what I expected. I have his shoulder a squeeze, hoping to not feel the tell-tale twitch that we all feared so much. When it didn't happen, I let out the breath I wasn't aware I was holding.

He smiled finally and turned to me. "So a bear claw wouldn't solve that problem would it?"

I had to laugh at that. It was good he could still joke about it. "Yeah. While I would be right there to tell you if you missed anything, I am pretty sure Rose wouldn't take it too well."

Shoving him to his feet, and receiving a glare from the spider on his other shoulder, I pulled my case from between my feet. "We should probably get going before we end up walking to the Great Hall." As we pulled our trunks down the hallway I added, "Since we all know how much you're looking forward to sitting next to a particular redhead."

His response of, "You're just jealous it's not you!" had me laughing all the way to the carriages.

After a quick ride to the castle, filled with quality advice that I'm pretty sure he was ignoring, we sat down at the Gryffindor table. Rose, unfortunately for John, was across from us with a book already open. Beside me, John's forehead hit the table when she didn't even look up when we took our seats on the bench.

Giving John a pat on the back, I glance up to see that the sorting had begun. We were a little late after all. It looked like we already got a few 1st years, there hadn't been a repeat of our year yet. If we hadn't already met each other, it would have been an awkward few years of forcibly sharing a room together. The sorting came to a close finally, I was literally drooling at the empty plates on the table.

The Headmaster, Flitwick, was doing the new school year speech. He talked about a lot of stuff I already knew, the dangers of the forest, the curfew after dark, the upcoming contest. I just wanted food at this point, and that was not going to change listening to him. Looking over at my best friend, I was going to complain like I always do during these things. Only to see John drooling for a completely different reason. Rose, who was also ignoring everything around her, had pulled her hair back to keep it from covering the book on the table. And apparently this change was causing John to lose the few brain cells he had left.

I hang my head in mock defeat. _I've lost him to the dark side._

That is until I noticed a brunette a little ways down the table giving me a wink. _Well, I heard the dark side is wonderful this time of year._

That was when the food finally appeared and every other thought was replaced by stuffing as much into my mouth as possible. As usual, everything was delicious and there was always enough to go around. In the middle of my gorging, I noticed a certain emptiness to one of the plates in front of me. Glancing over, I noticed that John was chuckling to himself between bites. I figured the laughter and my missing chicken had to be connected, I knew John was never innocent.

My focus then fell another plate across the way, with a book sitting next to it. The pile of food on it was amazing to behold, as usual for her. Rose, who was usually so focused on her books, also had an appetite to rival mine. The only problem was that we had a silent agreement, which was that we took the plates to our lefts. It kept the peace and food on both of our plates. The only problem, was that she was stealing off of John's side now, who happened to be on _my_ left.

Now, I could have just moved to my right and eaten off those plates. But it was the principle of the idea that I couldn't just give up. That and I ate with my right, it would just be too awkward of a transition. So I opened my mouth, luckily empty, when I noticed the battle already being fought next to me.

Two forks were in an intense of a battle over one of the roast beef, both of them were taking and giving ground as the fighting continued. Rose and John were both concentrating so much on the forks that they failed to see the smiles on each of their faces. The war was intense, but eventually it seemed John gave in. He laughed in his defeat, as the piece of meat was transferred to the other plate. Rose's eyes returned to her book, but there was a happy smile on her face as she ate.

I decided the food wasn't that important, I could always use my fork with my left. I had just done the transfer, but I was interrupted by a small hand on my shoulder. _Dang, I almost had it there. _I looked behind me and was greeted by the kind eyes of our headmaster. Flitwick was very fair with students, but he wasn't past giving detention to those who stepped over the line a few times too often. John, Sean, J-Ren and I had all toed that a little too often.

But now, there wasn't a hint of anger in those fun loving eyes. Flitwick stood there, smiling at me like I was the funniest person in the room, and to tell the truth that was cause for concern for me.

"James," The Headmaster began, "we seem to be in a bit of a pickle at the moment. Mr. Jones, our Head Boy this year, never arrived." Next to me, John started choking and was making a show of trying to drown it with pumpkin juice. "While we will look in with his parents, we can't start the year without a Head Boy after all!" Flitwick chuckled at the very idea.

He sobered up and continued to smile at me. "So James, how would you feel about being the new Head Boy in Mr. Jones' absence?" His other hand then rested on John's back. "And of course we would need another seventh year prefect to fill in for you."

The "honor" was lost on John as his head hit the table and we all heard a muffled "Damn it." Flitwick only laughed, and placed a badge onto the table between us. Turning to head back to the head table, he smiled at the two of us. "Good luck to you this year boys, and try to stay out of trouble!"

Reaching over, I unpinned my own prefect badge and tried to pin it too John's robe. I laughed at the glare he was giving me from his position on the table. I kept laughing as he groaned again, without lifting his head.

I slapped John's back. "Come on, it won't be that bad!"

John shifted his head slightly to continue his glare. "Before, I could sleep as much as I wanted. I could literally do anything and not have to worry about my 'image'. But now, I have _responsibilities_." He said it in such a disgusting tone that I had to chuckle at that.

From across the table, we heard Rose say, "I think it looks good on you John. Very professional."

At that, John snapped back into his seat, a huge grin on his face. Looking to me, he shrugged. "Maybe I could use more responsibilities." I shoved his shoulder with a laugh, he was so in deep that I think he liked it. I grabbed my new badge and placed it where my old one had hung. I think this year just got a little more interesting.

The rest of the meal was fairly uneventful, without any more battles for food or surprises of a cosmic scale. John was still giving Rose side glances, every once in awhile trying to lean over to see her book. He knew it annoyed her to high hell whenever someone read over her shoulder. So the usual bickering started up, which I loved to fuel whenever I got the chance. When everyone was finally done, we all stood up and started for the common room.

When we passed under the large door, John elbowed me and whispered, "Aren't you forgetting something, oh great Head Boy?" I suddenly felt the weight of the new badge on my

robe, but I still turned around.

"FIFTH YEAR PREFECTS, ROUND UP YOUR FIRST YEARS FOR THE TOUR!"

John was laughing at this point, holding his stomach as Rose simply rolled her eyes. Usually the Head Boy went to each of the prefects and made sure to remind them of their first duty. Only I was too lazy to head back in and find them in all the mess. I watched as Maggie went up and down slytherin table, collecting all the first years. She seemed nervous but I figured she would be fine.

John patted me on the back, "That was one hell of an announcement, oh fearless leader."

I rolled my eyes at my friend, "Are you really going to start that again? You didn't get your fill when I was first picked for perfect fifth year?"

With a loud, "Nope", John walked by and headed for the hallway to Gryffindor tower alongside Rose. As I rushed to catch up, I noticed a large group of people crowding around a box. It was probably the sign up for the talent show, which reminded me I needed to tell John what prefects actually did before he went off on his own. However, a flash of green and blond hair stopped me in my tracks.

Chuckling darkly to myself, I snuck up behind the Slytherin. Scorpius was writing on one of the slips of paper for the tryouts, and I just couldn't pass up the chance to tease the bugger.

Slapping my hand down hard on his shoulder to announce myself, I asked, "So Scorpius, what talent are you going to wow the judges with? I don't think glares count."

His current glare was actually pretty good, I should know since I was on the receiving end of them almost every time. But surprisingly the glare softened and he let out a sigh.

"Listen Potter, it's not me trying out." Pointing at the paper under his quill he added, "Does that look like my name too you?"

Glancing down I actually read the name on the slip of paper. _Maggie F _was written clearly. I couldn't help smiling at my semi-enemy. He was in as deep as John was, which was actually pretty sad when I thought about it. So I made myself feel better by grabbing the slip of paper and running like a loon towards the Great Hall. Of course, I heard the stomping feet of Scorpius right behind me but my target was just ahead.

Maggie had just begun her tour, and was leading the students towards the dungeon. I was sprinting for her with the paper clutched in my hand. Her surprise, and that of her first years, were lost on me as I raced past and threw the paper at her.

Scorpius tackled me to the ground at this point. But the package had been delivered, though I am not sure if my leg was supposed to bend that way. When I finally pushed the Slytherin off of me, I saw Maggie pulling her students over towards the signup booth. Scorpius was now trying to catch her, but was caught in the crowd that had formed around us.

I stood up and dusted my robes off. I looked around and smiled at the confused looking crowd. "Nothing to see here," I assured them, "just a practice for the Prefects. I like to keep them on their toes." I winked at one of the girls and quickly made my way towards the two Slytherins I was trying to set up. I mean it would happen anyway but I was having fun with this.

Catching up, I was rewarded with a smiling Maggie and a nervous Scorpius talking on their way back. I had hoped for more fireworks but I guess there was always tomorrow. As I walked in between them, Maggie handed me back the paper. "Could you put this in for me James? I need to finish my tour eventually you know."

Scorpius wasn't even paying attention, but I simply shrugged and said I would. I left the two potential love birds alone and headed over to the box. As I slipped the paper in I noticed something that had me laughing on the floor. On the back of the paper, was written _and_ _Scorpius_ _M_ in a much more feminine hand. My goal for fireworks had just turned into a full blown holiday for all to see! I was right, this was going to be one hell of a year.


	5. Scorpius

**Scorpius**

I felt happier than I ever had. Happier than when my father took me to Disney World. Happier than when I was playing quidditch. Happier than the day that I lost my virginity. Why? Because of _her_.

She was so beautiful. She was as radiant as the sun. When I saw her on the platform one year ago, she really surprised me. I just could not stop staring. She took my breath away. Every time I saw her, everyone else would disappear. The only problem was that she was my best friend and my patrol partner. She probably viewed me as a brother. But I loved her. I loved her with my whole heart. I could not bear the thought of her with someone else. I only went with other girls to make her jealous, but that had failed me. So as I sat next to her at breakfast on the first day of the talent show, I tried not to brush up against her on accident. She still turned towards me and I held my breath.

"Do you really think I should do this?" I looked at Maggie and smiled down at her. I tended to do that a lot around her as of late. She just always brought out the best in me.

"Of course you should," I said emphatically. She glared at me. _Merlin, _she was beautiful even when she was angry. "You have a beautiful voice that will win over the hearts of the crowd. You were _born_ to be a star!" She blushed furiously and looked down at her breakfast stood up and I got a very good view of her. The way her brown hair looked pulled back into a ponytail. The way her green pencil skirt made her look hot. The way her petite body looked graceful. She was a vision from heaven...

"What did you say?" She looked at me like I was insane. I must have spoken aloud. _Bollocks._

"I said 'eleven,'" I quickly lied. She obviously did not believe me, but she did not question me. She began to walk out of the Great Hall when Al sat down next to me. He saw that I was ogling her and shook his head.

"Mate, you've got it _bad_," he laughed. I whipped my head around to glare at him.

"What have I got bad?" I quipped. He laughed even harder.

"Maggie," he winked. Leaning closer, he screwed up his face. "You're in lurve!" He then proceeded to make kissing noises in my ear. I swatted at his face, annoyed that he had discovered my weakness.

"How can you tell?" I asked.

"It's written all over your face. I've see the way you look at her. It's not your usual face around her. It's also not your 'I want you in my pants' face, either. You've been looking at her that way since the day we came back for school. She doesn't know it, but you are completely wrapped around her finger. You'll do anything for her." He suddenly became very serious. "You know John is going to kill you, right?" I groaned and sank my head to the table.

"What am I going to do? I can't imagine my life without her. I feel better when she's around. I have this unyielding urge to be with her all the time... I've turned into a pansy!" Al just looked at me solemnly.

"Do you really love her?" I nodded my head. "Do you think she's the One?" I looked up at Al. What came out of my mouth next surprised me.

"I don't think. _I know_." Al smiled and looked at something behind me. I turned to see Maggie standing there, talking to John. I quickly turned back around to face him.

"Then go get her." I smiled back and shook his hand. Standing up, I rushed over to where she stood. She greeted me with a huge smile on her face. I loved that smile. I yearned to be the cause of it. Her lips were the perfect shade of red. She and I smiled at each other until John coughed. I jumped and looked at him, headstrong. He shook his head.

"Sorry. Am I interrupting something? Because Maggie and I can talk another time if you guys are too busy," he teased. I cocked an eyebrow and glared at him. I really had no patience for him. He was best friends with Potter, who always harassed me. I hated the both of them. Stupid Gryffindors, always trying to ruin everything. John never actually did anything mean to me, so I treated him a little better than James. I mean to say that at least we did not get into rows and fights about random things.

I peeked over his shoulder to see J-ren and Sean heading over toward us. I sighed and put my hand on Maggie's shoulder.

"Can we talk in private?" I inquired. She smiled at me and nodded in consent. She hugged John goodbye and walked with me along the tables toward the door.

"What do you want to talk about?" I looked at her beauty, drinking her face in. I knew that I needed to see her lips in the morning. I wanted to see her in her jumper, sweat pants, glasses, and no makeup on. She was the one for me. "Scorpius?" I shook my head and smiled at her.

"I just wanted to know how you feel about me?" She blanched and looked nervous.

"Why do you want to know?" I smiled even wider.

"I just want to know," I remarked innocently, throwing my hands up for more affect. Maggie sighed and looked down.

"WellI'vesortoflikedyousinceImetyouandnowIthinkImightloveyou," she rushed. The smile slipped off my face. Her voice was so low and fast that all I had heard was "love."

"Excuse me? What did you say?" She looked up at me and repeated what she had said slower. I stopped walking as she continued talking about changing the subject and walking. We were at the entrance to the Great Hall. It took her a second to realize that I was not following her. Maggie returned, looking anxious.

"Scorpius?" I did not hear her. I was too busy processing what she had said. I grabbed hold of her right hand.

"You... you love me?" She hesitated at first, but eventually answered yes. I was so happy that I couldn't control myself: I kissed her in front of the entirety of Hogwarts. There were several hoots and hollers. I put my fingers in her hair. It was so soft. The taste of her lips was so divine. I could not describe it. It was like everyone else disappeared. The two of us were kissing. And everything felt right.

We broke apart for air a few minutes later. Her pupils were dilated and she was breathing heavily. I was probably in the same state. I put my forehead to hers and looked into her beautiful chocolate orbs. "Will you go out with me?" I whispered. Maggie smiled widely.

"Yes." We jumped apart when we heard a thunderous applause from the Great Hall. I looked over at Maggie. She was smiling and blushing. Her shyness around large crowds was incredibly adorable. I kissed her temple.

"I love you, Maggie," I whispered. She whipped her head around to look back up at me, smiling even wider.

"I love you, too, Scorpius," she said. She stood on her tiptoes to to peck my lips as John ran out of the Great Hall and onto the grounds. Maggie noticed.

_"Shite!"_ We bolted after him. Luckily, he was at the edge of the woods before he turned. Hagrid came running out of his hut to help. Professor Lupin was trailing behind us. When Maggie reached the woods, she transformed and bounded after her cousin. I had to make sure that she would not get hurt. I turned myself invisible and entered the Forbidden Forest.

I wandered around a bit, on alert for signs of movement. I was almost about to give up when I was them. John was lying on the ground with a massive wound on his side. Hagrid was yelling at something in the trees while Maggie nudged his pelt. He was breathing, but he was not conscious. I removed my ruse and ran over to her. She was still in tiger form, but I was not afraid. I knew that she could control herself, unlike the brown form lying close by. She peered at me with giant eyes and crawled over to me. I hugged her around her neck while she nuzzled herself into me. Hagrid came back as I began to pet her soft, orange and brown coat.

"Darn creature! I don' even know wha' it was! I never seen somethin' like tha'. It took a whole branch off of tha' tree righ' there! It stabbed 'im in the side with it, too. Ruddy shameful thing ter do. Maggie had it well under control, didn' ya?" She nodded her consent. I looked over at a tree branch thicker than Hagrid's hand laying on the ground several yards away. I watched as Maggie returned to her human form and Professor Lupin caught up with us. He looked stunned as Hagrid explained what had occurred. I sat down on the ground with Maggie in my lap. She was crying hysterically. I tried to help soothe her. I began to sing the song that she had chosen for tonight. It was "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King.

_"When the night has come, and the land is dark_

_ And the moon is the only light we see..."_

She began to sing along with me. We even were able to harmonized together. We actually sounded really amazing. She calmed down quite a bit after that. Suddenly, we heard a very human groan. All of us turned to see John becoming human again. His maroon and gold striped shirt was practically shredded on the left side. The gash from the tree branch kept bubbling over with blood. He was as white as a sheet. We heard another audible groan after his transformation was complete. Maggie and I stood up and walked over to him while Hagrid gently picked him up.

"We'll take him to the Hospital Wing," Lupin explained. I nodded, wrapping my arms around Maggie. "Make sure she is okay. She is probably in shock. Don't let her do anything until she sees Madam Pomfrey for a Calming Draught. I will ensure that Mister Brehm is alright." He drew his wand and with a quick swish, the blood stopped coming out. I hurried Maggie through the castle and up to the infirmary. We arrived before everyone else. Maggie was once again in hysterics. I explained to the elderly matron what had happened and she quickly prepared a Calming Draught for Maggie. I ran my hands over my faces. I _hated_ seeing her like this. I hated seeing her in pain. _Ever._ I wanted her to be happy all of the time. I knew I looked like a sap, but I needed to see her smile. I started to pray to Merlin that she would smile. Just one smile. I heard footsteps approaching me. I looked up to see that my prayers were answered. I must have been sitting there for about ten minutes, because it appeared that the draught had taken full effect. She was smiling widely at me. I took in her beauty once more and smiled up at her. She extended a hand out to help me out of my seat. I took it and we walked out of the Hospital Wing just a few seconds before Lupin, Hagrid, John, Al, James, Chris, Lily, J-ren, Sean, and a crying Rose all came flying through the corridor. Apparently, someone had bandaged him up, which seemed to help immensely. Maggie remained calm when she saw John. I sent a silent thank you to Merlin. She pivoted on the spot and cast her gaze upward toward me.

"Scorpius," she murmured. I nodded and gazed down at her intently. She smiled again and I melted. "We need to go get ready for the talent show." The smile slipped off my face once again as I realized what time it was. The talent show began at seven o'clock p.m. on Saturday and it was already four. I ran down corridors and flights of stairs, still holding tightly onto her small hand. We finally made it to the Slytherin common room in what was probably record time. I gasped out the password and we went into our dormitories. I changed into my athletic gear for Security Detail. I was wearing a pair of blue gym shorts and a muggle workout tank top. I ran downstairs a few minutes later to find Maggie waiting for me. She was wearing a black, long sleeve, form fitting dress. The top part was made of a sheer material, which stopped right above her breasts. The rest of the dress was made of velvet and stopped mid-thigh. Her hair was now down and curly. Her makeup was very dark and made her look mysterious. She was wearing a pair of floral heels. She looked at me and shook her head while I sauntered over to her. I put my hands on her arms.

"You need to change," she said, placing her hands on my chest. I paid no mind to what she said. Her red lips were taunting me again. I just wanted to kiss her again.

"Wow," was all I could manage. She smirked up at me and cocked an eyebrow.

"Did you even hear me?" I put my forehead to hers. She kissed my lips gently before saying it in a sexy voice. My knees went weak and I felt like I would melt. She sighed and lead me up the boys dormitory stairs and into my room. Which was very messy. I realized where we were and how messy the room actually was when she started climbing over Al's dirty laundry and my broomstick. I winced as she went to my wardrobe to pull out some nicer clothes. Maggie pulled out a pair of dark blue jeans and a light blue shirt. "Here, you should wear this." She put them in my hands and then crossed her arms, waiting for me to change. I stared right back at her. "What? Are you self conscious?" I scoffed at her teasing and started to strip right in front of her. When I had taken my shirt off completely, she climbed over the piles on the ground to feel my abs. I shuddered under her touch. She withdrew her hand timidly, surprised by my response. Grabbing her hand gently, I placed her hand flat on my abdomen. Out of all of the girls I had slept with, none of them had ever had this effect on me. She smiled softly and pulled away. "I'd always heard of the infamous Malfoy eight pack, but I didn't believe it was _real_..." I smirked as I put my shirt on. Yes, it was true: I, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, had an eight pack. Thanks to all of my quidditch training, I had a great body. It also helped while I was trying to make Maggie jealous. And the shagging was not too bad, either. I knew Maggie was not ready for that kind of thing. She turned around as I pulled my shorts off. I rolled my eyes.

"What? So you can ogle my abs, but you can't look at my lower half?" She threw a pair of shoes at my face with surprisingly good aim. I quickly caught them using my Quidditch skills and slipped on my pants. I saw that they were my nice shoes. "Merlin, you're having me dress nice for Security Detail." She quickly turned around. Luckily for her, I was already dressed. I was busy rolling up the sleeve on my shirt.

"You're not doing Security Detail," she stated plainly. I looked at her like she was crazy. She giggled. "You're performing with me." I practically fell over right then and there.

"_WHAT?!"_ I shouted. Maggie jumped back in surprise.

"I signed us both up, since you oh so kindly put my name on the list without my permission." I ran my left hand over my face. This was not going to end well. She walked out of the dormitory and down the stairs. I followed her into the common room before I sat down in one of the black, leather chairs by the fireplace. Maggie continued to walk up to her room, where she got her guitar and capo. When she came back downstairs, she decided to sit on my lap. I wrapped my arms around her waist as she put the guitar strap over her head. I rested my chin on her shoulder while she quickly tuned her guitar. "Let's rehearse," she recommended before clearing her throat. "One, two, three, four." She plucked the guitar strings to create the background for the song. I closed my eyes and began to sing the first verse. I was a pretty good singer, although I never actually sang in front of anyone before. Maggie was the only one who heard me sing, and it was on accident. She had been staying at my house for a couple of weeks while her family was away last summer. I was cooking for her when she walked in wearing nothing but an oversized _Doctor Who _tee shirt. She had stood behind me until I had finished singing. I had been really embarrassed when she had started applauding.

She took the chorus and the next verse. I sang the chorus after that. Then we started harmonizing with each other for the last two choruses. She hit the last chord and I opened my eyes.

"Incredible," I whispered. We were mere inches apart. We leaned in towards each other...

_BOOM!_ Maggie jumped off of my lap and onto the armrest of the chair as Albus burst through the common room door. I glared at him as he glanced at us.

"There you are! Quickly! We need you to come to the Great Hall! It's nearly five!" I grabbed Maggie's hand and we all hurried along the halls to the Great Hall. We reached it just as five o'clock hit. Flitwick was standing on a tall platform, trying to get all thirty participants' attentions. Finally, James stood up on the stage next to him and shouted.

"HEY! LISTEN!" I heard a familiar laugh off to the side. I turned to see a conscious and lively John Brehm off to the side, laughing his arse off. He was wearing his Prefects' robes, which seemed to cover most of his bandages. He was walking, laughing, and smiling. This cheered Maggie up quite a lot. The color had returned to his features. I squeezed Maggie's hand. Her grip tightened significantly around mine. It got the point where she was cutting off the circulation in my hand.

"Maggie," I muttered into her ear. "I know you're nervous, but I can't feel my hand." She jumped and lessened her grip, relaxing just a little bit more. Flitwick launched into a lengthy speech about how this year would be magnificent and how pleased to see such an interest in this event. He went on to tell us the order. We were in line after J-ren, right in the middle of the pack. He then proceeded to have us go through a private run through. To ensure the secrecy of each act, we all needed to wait outside the Great Hall. This process went by quickly: we performed in front of hundreds of empty chairs for our sound check. Everyone in the room froze when we began to sing. We sang a chorus before we left the Great Hall again. Eventually, we were gathered into the room behind where the teachers normally sat for meals. It was filled with trophies and awards. I looked to Maggie to see if she was calm. Surprisingly, she was the most calm person in the room. She was retuning her guitar and playing through the chords. I placed my hands on her hips and she smiled up at me. Smiling back, I began to sing softly in her ear. She played along and hummed through her parts. She pecked me on the lips after the song ended. Eventually, Aubrey came back to bring out the first three acts. After a few minutes, she came back for the next one in line. Slowly but surely, the room began to thin out. After each performance, we were told to go back to our dormitories. We were not supposed to know what the others' talents were, but it was pretty obvious to guess.

The person before J-ren left to go prepare for their performance. I tapped him on the shoulder and he whipped around. He was going to play the clarinet. _Of course,_ I thought. _Band kids always stick to their instruments._ I stuck my hand out to him. He looked at it like it was covered in bubotuber pus.

"Good luck, mate," I tried. He scoffed and looked away from me. I dropped my hand lamely and shrugged. I was just trying to be nice to Maggie's friends. I felt like that was the right thing to do now. If they did not want my kindness, they would just have to deal with it. J-ren was pulled next. I glanced over my shoulder at Maggie. She was still as calm as a person could be. Normally, she would have been extremely jittery and on the brink of a panic attack, talking at the speed of light. I slowly turned around to face her. "How is it that I, _Scorpius Malfoy_, am more nervous than Maggie Frace?" She laughed and shook her head.

"This is what I've wanted since I was three years old. I've wanted to sing for a large crowd. I never wanted to do anything other than music," she bubbled. I noticed that she couldn't stop smiling.

"Why have you never told me this before?" She looked down and then back up at me.

"Because I wanted to surprise my friends. I really tried not to sing in front of you guys before John's seventh year." Aubrey came back at that moment. Maggie grabbed my hand and gave it a quick squeeze before walking through the doorway. We walked behind the stage that had been set up for the performances. There were two makeshift rooms: one for each of the acts. They must have been sound proof because we could see the outline of J-ren playing his clarinet. The door closed behind us and we were alone again. Maggie made sure her guitar was in tune and strummed through the notes again. We sang our parts. We were interrupted by the other door opening and then we were in the next room. I started praying to Merlin that the audience would like us. Maggie started shaking out her hands and massaging them. Suddenly, James opened the door to our room. I nodded to him. "Can we have two stools, please, James?" Maggie asked. James smiled at her and gave her a hug.

"Of course you can!" He conjured up two stools for us. "Best of luck to you guys!" He then opened the door and carried the stools out to the stage. Maggie put her hand on my arm.

"Have fun out there, okay?" I smiled and kissed her forehead.

"You know I will," I quipped jokingly. The door opened once more and it was our turn to shine. We walked onto the stage towards the two stools. Maggie took the farther one of the two. I sat down and saw that Professors Lupin, Sanchez, and Morgana were all sitting at a table that had signs hanging off the other side of the table. They were powered by a wave of the wand. Each Professor only needed to think of "yes" or "no", wave their wand, and it would show up on the board in front of them.

"Please introduce yourselves and what you will be doing today," Professor Morgana commanded.

"I'm Maggie and this is Scorpius," Maggie chimed. "We will be singing for you today." Morgana and Sanchez rolled their eyes while Lupin sat up, intrigued. I looked to Maggie to start. She cleared her throat and adjusted her guitar. "One, two, three, four." And we were off. I sang my part as we had rehearsed it. Maggie... her voice sounded like it came from heaven. I loved hearing it. I almost missed my entrance when I realized where we were in the song. We finished and for a few seconds, the hall was quiet. I had not looked out once at the audience. When I looked out, it was like Slytherin's reaction after I had won the Quidditch cup last year. Everyone was on their feet. I smiled, stood up, and took Maggie's hand, raising it high above her head. She was glowing in the spotlight. It was incredible just looking at her, the normally shy and quiet girl, become a beaming woman with such admiration for what she was doing. I looked over at the judges to see them on their feet.

After everyone had quieted down, Lupin cheered in a loud voice, "Ladies, I think that was our first standing ovation of the night!" All three of them gave high praises for our performance. We received three "yes" from them and we were ushered offstage and out of the Great Hall. After we got back to the common room, I pulled Maggie to the side.

"That was fantastic! You should go solo," I exclaimed. She shook her head and tried to get me to continue on with her, but I just could not do that. "Maggie, you are destined to become a singing star. I, on the other hand, need to focus on my Quidditch skills and becoming an auror in case that fails. You should be happy with how far you've come by yourself. I am going to pull my name out of the competition. You need to focus on _your_ career." I kissed her on the forehead. "Don't worry. I'll come backstage with you if you get nervous. I want you to be able to shine by yourself."

"Fine," she sighed. She seemed a little grumpy about the idea. She kissed my cheek before saying, "I need to go to bed now. Goodnight, Scorpius." She took her guitar off of her shoulder as she strutted up the steps. She was so elegant and graceful. I plopped down in the chair nearest me when she was out of view, going over today's events. I smiled, knowing that I would never have to worry about losing Maggie to another man. She was _mine_. And I was happier then than I had been that morning. Little did I know that things were going to get worse.


End file.
